AP names Sarah Rafi as Central region deputy editor

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CHICAGO (AP) — Sarah Rafi, a veteran editor who has helped lead Associated Press coverage of such stories as the massive tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri, and the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, has been promoted to deputy editor for the U.S. Central Region.

The region oversees AP journalism in 14 states from the Canadian border to Texas. The appointment was announced Tuesday by Central Region Editor Tom Berman.

"Rafi is a smart, creative and relentless journalist," Berman said. "The AP has been out front on countless stories thanks to her methodical planning and aggressive pursuit of news."

Rafi has been an editor on the AP's Central Regional Desk since its inception in 2009. The Chicago-based office oversees, coordinates and edits coverage in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.

In 2014, she was promoted to assistant editor, a role that includes oversight of the editing operation in Chicago.

Rafi, 36, began her AP career in 2001 as a temporary reporter in Cleveland. She joined the full-time AP staff in 2002, as a desk supervisor in the Detroit bureau, and after three years moved to the Chicago bureau in a similar role. In that position, she played an instrumental role in the bureau's reporting on the arrest and resignation of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the coverage of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Rafi is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in journalism